Amazon raises Prime membership to $99

Amazon is raising the price of its Prime membership from $79 to $99 — the first price change for Prime in nine years.

Over the years Amazon has expanded its business to include e-readers, groceries and video streaming. Prime allows members to stream popular TV shows and movies — much like Hulu and Netflix — for an annual fee. There is also free two-day shipping with Prime.

In an email Thursday to members, Amazon stressed that it has not raised the price on Prime in the nine years since its launch, despite increased shipping costs and the addition of new features like video streaming.

The new price will be reflected when users renew their Prime membership.